A new nine-story, 350,000 sf biomedical research and education facility under construction at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School in Worcester, Mass., will accommodate larger class sizes and extensive lab space. The facility will support more than 70 principal investigators studying treatments for Alzheimer’s disease, other dementias, and neurodegenerative diseases.
The additional space also permits campus expansion of facilities to help meet the needs for more physicians, graduate nurses, life sciences researchers, and other health sciences professionals. The project is in line with the recommendation from the Association of American Medical Colleges that medical schools identify ways of helping meet the growing physician shortage.
The $325 million building will host co-location of the Horae Gene Therapy Center, the Departments of Neurology and Neurobiology, the Program in Molecular Medicine, and the new Program in Human Genetics & Evolutionary Biology. The new structure will complete the west face of the Campus Green and require the removal of a portion of a parking garage. The new building will connect with two other structures through a new system of sky bridges on the second level and below grade.
The sustainability target is LEED Gold with aspirations to net-zero energy usage. The architecture integrates high performance systems with a double-skin façade and geothermal heat pumps. The geothermal heating and cooling system will reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the building by 55% compared to serving HVAC needs exclusively with the campus power plant.
Moving certain departments and programs to the new building will open up space for more than 30 laboratories in existing spaces. The relocation of the molecular medicine department will allow space to be leased to companies in the UMass Medicine Science Park.
“Some may be surprised to learn that UMass Chan Medical School actually increased its funded research during the pandemic,” said Terence R. Flotte, MD, the Celia and Isaac Haidak Professor, executive deputy chancellor, provost, and dean of the School of Medicine. “But we were not surprised at all. The gifted research community here is deeply committed to advancing our efforts to cure disease and alleviate suffering.”
On the Building Team:
Owner: UMass Chan Medical School & UMass Building Authority
Design architect: ZGF Architects
Architect of record: Architectural Resources Cambridge (ARC)
MEP Engineers: BR+A Consulting Engineers & Architectural Engineers, Inc.
Structural engineer: RSE Associates
Construction Manager: Shawmut Design and Construction
Related Stories
University Buildings | Feb 20, 2015
Penn strengthens campus security by reviving its surrounding neighborhood
In 1996, the University of Pennsylvania’s sprawling campus in Philadelphia was in the grip of an unprecedented crime wave. But instead of walling themselves off from their surrounding neighborhoods, the school decided to support the community.
University Buildings | Feb 18, 2015
Preparing for the worst: Campus security since Virginia Tech
Seven years after the mass shootings at Virginia Tech, colleges and universities continue to shake up their emergency communications and response capabilities to shootings and other criminal threats.
University Buildings | Feb 17, 2015
BD+C exclusive: How security is influencing campus design and construction
Campus crime—whether real or perceived—presents Building Teams with more opportunities for early-stage consultation with university clients.
Architects | Feb 11, 2015
Shortlist for 2015 Mies van der Rohe Award announced
Copenhagen, Berlin, and Rotterdam are the cities where most of the shortlisted works have been built.
Higher Education | Feb 3, 2015
Integrated Learning Neighborhoods: A solution for linking student housing with the typical student experience
Just as urban housing fits into the city as a whole, student housing can be integrated into the campus network as a series of living/learning neighborhoods, write Gensler's Brian Watson and Mark McMinn.
Sponsored | | Jan 26, 2015
Arriscraft delivers wow factor for the University of Wyoming’s remarkable Marian H. Rochelle Gateway Center
The state-of-the art Marian H. Rochelle Gateway Center successfully fuses the university’s time-honored brand qualities with a leading-edge technological infrastructure.
Sponsored | Green | Jan 26, 2015
Shopping centers set their sight on solar
As part of its pledge to environmentally sound practices, real estate investment trust Macerich is implementing solar across its portfolio of 85-plus properties in 19 states.
| Jan 7, 2015
University of Chicago releases proposed sites for Obama library bid
There are two proposed sites for the plan, both owned by the Chicago Park District in Chicago’s South Side, near the university’s campus in Hyde Park, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
| Jan 6, 2015
Snøhetta unveils design proposal of the Barack Obama Presidential Center Library for the University of Hawaii
The plan by Snøhetta and WCIT Architecture features a building that appears square from the outside, but opens at one corner into a rounded courtyard with a pool, Dezeen reports.
| Jan 2, 2015
Construction put in place enjoyed healthy gains in 2014
Construction consultant FMI foresees—with some caveats—continuing growth in the office, lodging, and manufacturing sectors. But funding uncertainties raise red flags in education and healthcare.
